Next public observing sessions:

March 4th, 6:30-8:30pm (weather permitting -- though it does not look promising). If we have to cancel in March, then next one is April 1st from 8-10pm.

Directions to the Observatory: Enter the Main Building. Go up the main staircase to the 3rd floor. Walk around to
the south-east corner of the floor (directly above the coffee shop on the 1st floor). Walk through the Picture Gallery hallway. Take the stairs at the end of the hall (up a small landing) to the 4th floor. Follow that hallway all the way to the end. Take the stairs to the roof of the building.

Night observing

Monthly Schedule

We typically open on the first Wednesday of each month, at the time specified below.

January - 5:30-7:30 (but normally we skip Jan due to Winter Break)

February - 6:00-8:00

March - 6:30-8:30 EST

April - 8:00-10:00 EDT

May - 8:30-10:00

June - 9:00-10:00

July, August, September - Open for Special Events Only

October - 7:00-9:00 EDT

November - 5:30-7:30 EST or 6:30-8:30 EDT, depending on date!

December - 5:00-7:00

On the first Wednesday of every month, roughly 30 minutes after
sunset, the Drexel University Physics Dept. invites the public to
attend an observing session atop the Main Building at Drexel
University. The program is directed by Professor Gordon Richards with
the support of graduate and undergraduate assistants. We view a
variety of celestial objects, from planets, nebulae, star clusters, to
comets. These objects are seen atop the Main Building via a Meade
LX200GPS Telescope with Schmidt-Cassegrain 16" Optics. This makes the
Joseph R. Lynch Observatory the largest in the city of Philadelphia.

Solar observing

We recently acquired a new Hα telescope with an easily portable
mount. Watch the quad between Disque and Korman halls or the area between
Disque and the Main Building on clear days. We will usually have the
solar telescope set up in the quad in the afternoon, on open house days.

For an approximation of what you will see through our telescope, see the
Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory's
Latest
EIT 304 Image website. The more activity you see in that image
(ultraviolet light at 30.4 nm), the more activity you will see in our
telescope. Keep in mind: the sun changes on an hourly basis, so tomorrow's
sun might look quite different from today's!

The Joseph R. Lynch Observatory has been made possible by the Generosity of
Joseph R. Lynch '58 and the GE Foundation.